A Cocktail Kit Could Be the Perfect Holiday Gift
Experiential gifts are often the best ones, and if you have a cocktail fan in your life, a subscription or one-time gift of a cocktail kit could be just what the mixologist ordered.
Shaker And Spoon
We all know the type. The guy, or woman, who has everything. Someone for whom holiday gift-giving is less a joy and more an elaborate, psychological puzzle to figure out. Who has that kind of time? Make it easy on yourself since nearly everyone enjoys a stiff drink or a cold one every now and then. Buy your buddy a one-off cocktail kit from Hella Cocktail Co. that will allow them to create a slew of Moscow Mules, Bloodies or Peach Mimosas, or gift them with a month- or year-long subscription to a great cocktail brand like Shaker & Spoon that will give them everything they need to create mixologist-masterminded, top-notch cocktails at home.
After all, anyone can give a gift, but you are the kind of savvy gift-giver who gives experiences. What could be cooler than that?
With a Shaker & Spoon gift subscription, you can choose a monthly or yearly option. Each month your recipient will receive a box via priority mail with three recipes and everything they need to make 12 drinks (four from each recipe) besides the alcohol. They'll get an email before each box arrives with suggestions for a bottle that'll work well, bar tools to have on hand and more. The Shaker & Spoon recipes are solid, mixologist-created with the same inventiveness and taste you'd expect from a trip to your local craft cocktail emporium. Everything you need, from tiny tinctures to fresh fruit, bitters, bespoke sodas and honey (depending upon each month's boozy theme) is in the box, so your giftee can dive into making a series of delicious, high-quality recipes.
Know someone who is interested in getting into cocktails? This great cocktail starter kit from the well-known brand Cocktail Kingdom offers the sleek, functional tools they'll need to get their drink on.
Make a rich imperial stout with this beer kit while supporting social justice with this "Black Is Beautiful" kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop which will donate half of the total sales from this kit directly to Color of Change. Committed to advancing civil rights in America, Color of Change is an organization powered by those who work to end racism and injustice.
Give a family member or friend the gift of a good time with this set of delicious mixers to spice up any brunch. Your giftee just adds the booze. The Bloody Mary mix is all-natural and the Peach Bellini is especially refreshing and low sugar to take some of the guilt out of your brunching.
With a focus on organic and all-natural cocktail mixers with interesting flavor profiles like The Cuke (cucumber, lime and elderflower), Root Crafted Cocktail Mixers focuses on delivering the mixers that get you started with the addition of your spirit of choice. The cheeky Back to School Special wooden gift box includes a 32-ounce Lemongrass mixer, a 16-ounce Hibi Hibi mixer and a 16-ounce Au Pear mixer so you can sample a variety of these non-alcoholic mixers developed by two mothers who clearly know about the necessity of the occasional spirit-lifting cocktail. All your giftee needs to do is add their spirit of choice to sample a variety of cocktail possibilities. Other gift packages range from $22.50 for a copper cocktail shaker to $99 for a Large Gift Box with five cocktail mixers and a copper cocktail shaker.
Create authentic artisan cocktails at home with this trio of premium mixers, crafted from organic fruit juices and cane sugar. This Organic Cocktail Set includes Blood Orange Mandarin Organic Cocktail Mix, Jalapeño Lime Organic Cocktail Mix, Pomegranate Blueberry Organic Cocktail Mix and a jar of mixologist-favorite Luxardo Maraschino Cherries to top things off.
Sort of a mini-wine subscription, this cheeky wine advent calendar comes loaded with a variety of miniature bottles of reds and whites so grown-ups can count down to the holidays with a festive glass each evening. You must order by Nov. 17 for delivery by Dec. 1.
Saloon Box gift subscriptions come with spirits (unless you live in one of these states: AL, KY, LA, MI, MS, MT, NC, OH, SD, UT, VA, WV — but don't worry, there are some no-alcohol options available, too), and you can order a one-time individual cocktail box or anywhere from a three-month to one-year-long subscription for gift-giving. Saloon Box says its focus is on experimentation and on small liquor brands and small-batch bitters, shrubs, etc. Boxes include two recipes that each make two cocktails.
Tanteo Tequila offers a variety of margarita kits for a limited delivery area, which include Tanteo Tequila, sour mix and fruit juice. (Kits are available for delivery to NY, NJ, CA, FL, WA, IL, CT and the Greater Dallas, Greater Austin and Greater Houston Areas.)
Treat a tequila fan to a fun stocking stuffer of four tequilas: 85 Proof Blanco, spicy jalapeño, smokey chipotle and extra spicy habanero.
Crafted Taste subscriptions allow you to choose a mixers-only subscription for $100 per month or a full kit with alcohol for $150 a month, with gift subscriptions available for anywhere from one month to a year. Crafted Taste is unlike some other cocktail subscription kits in offering full-size portions of alcohol and hard-to-find and custom-made mixers so your kit can serve anywhere from 12 to 17 drinks. Each kit comes with modern and classic cocktail recipes and food pairing ideas.
Created by two Atlanta entrepreneurs, 18.21 Bitters specializes in unique bitters, tinctures, shrubs and other cocktail mixers. Their collection of bitters sets are geared toward specific spirits — vodka, bourbon and whiskey, gin, rum and a spicy bitters set. These bitters trios make a unique stocking stuffer for the spirits fan on your guest list.
